After the C-5, What Next? Exploring the Possibility of the Dod and Commercial Industry Jointly Developing a New Large Cargo Aircraft

The basic research question is: Can the U.S. Air Force team with the U.S.aerospace industry in jointly developing a new aircraft to meet Air Force strategic liftshortfalls and compete in the commercial market for cargo airlifters? To answer thisquestion I studied the military and commercial markets for air cargo transport. I alsolooked at industry efforts in the way of advanced airframe concepts. The C-17 CAMAAeffort and EELV program were examined for lessons learned that could potentially beapplied to the development of a dual-purpose aircraft. While studying these issues,important real physical differences emerged between commercial and military transports.